A couple of days ago I finished reading Michael Lewis' 'The Big Short'. Michael Lewis has written several best selling books, including 'Liar's Poker' and "The Blind Side'. His newest book provides a very detailed explanation of the events that lead to the downfall of the the market in 2008. This is a must read for everyone and it clearly shows how we were all duped by those in charge of the financial markets.
The CEOs who ran the largest financial and insurance institutions, AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutche Bank, JP Morgan, CitiGroup and Lehman Brothers were taking risks unheard before in the history of the financial marketplace. The rating agencies, specifically Moody's and Standard and Poors were giving "riskless" ratings to financial instruments that they didn't have a clue about. The institutions 'hid' things on their books so that we the unsuspecting investors (or should I say 'saps') would pour our hearts, souls and our hard earned money into their investments and our homes.
As Michael Lewis states: "The people in a position to resolve the financial crisis were, of course, the very same people who had failed to foresee it", including Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke and the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and CitiGroup. And, of course, I was caught up in a mortgage on a house that was included in the great fall of 2008.
When I read Michael's first book, 'Liar's Poker', I swore that I would never invest with the brokerage firm that he worked for, Salomon Brothers (which is no longer in existence). Now, after reading his second book, I'm almost convinced that I would be better off putting my money in my mattress.
It is going to take YEARS for us to recover from this mess and the housing market may be the most vulnerable of all. Owning a home used to be the American Dream. Now, it's an American Nightmare with not much hope of providing the equity that many need in their later years.
The CEOs who ran the largest financial and insurance institutions, AIG, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Deutche Bank, JP Morgan, CitiGroup and Lehman Brothers were taking risks unheard before in the history of the financial marketplace. The rating agencies, specifically Moody's and Standard and Poors were giving "riskless" ratings to financial instruments that they didn't have a clue about. The institutions 'hid' things on their books so that we the unsuspecting investors (or should I say 'saps') would pour our hearts, souls and our hard earned money into their investments and our homes.
As Michael Lewis states: "The people in a position to resolve the financial crisis were, of course, the very same people who had failed to foresee it", including Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke and the CEOs of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and CitiGroup. And, of course, I was caught up in a mortgage on a house that was included in the great fall of 2008.
When I read Michael's first book, 'Liar's Poker', I swore that I would never invest with the brokerage firm that he worked for, Salomon Brothers (which is no longer in existence). Now, after reading his second book, I'm almost convinced that I would be better off putting my money in my mattress.
It is going to take YEARS for us to recover from this mess and the housing market may be the most vulnerable of all. Owning a home used to be the American Dream. Now, it's an American Nightmare with not much hope of providing the equity that many need in their later years.
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